Superman Stokes England's Knight in shining armour

THE fact that England still have a great shot in what has all the makings of another Headingley humdinger is down solely to Ben Stokes.

- Neil Squires

Without his defiant first innings 80 when the Ashes were slipping away before England’s eyes they would have been dead and buried by now.

It was the lifeline that enabled them to make hay with the ball under the lights last night.

There is a sense of Monty Python’s Black Knight about Stokes as he defies his physical issues to take on Australia almost single-handedly.

He is operating with heavy strapping on his knee, needed painkillers at the crease on Friday and has not been able to bowl a single ball in this Test match.

Yet he remains the heart and soul of this England team.

Where would England be without Stokes? It is a question that becomes more and more relevant with each grimace and groan from their creaking captain.

An England side without him at its centrepiece would feel like Trafalgar Square without Nelson’s Column.